March 18, 2007

So they tell me that this issue of the Tribune will be read by all the travel agents and wholesalers from around the world who will be in attendance at Mexico’s biggest Tourism Trade Fair held - each year in Acapulco. I understand it’s quite the event. They asked me to go, a few years back, when our sales director couldn’t make it for some reason. I refused. I confess to being really biased. I love Vallarta and I’m not particularly fond of that town.
But I digress… Did you notice that this page is no longer called "Opinion" in the printed version of the Tribune? I’m glad someone finally realized that all I’ve been writing about here for the last nine years and some …has been my life.

Sure, I express my opinion of things, but when one reads "Opinion", one usually thinks of something wise, written by a wizened older gentleman –or lady- like a political analyst or the like. As I am none of that, I’m glad to have been demoted, so to speak.
Our webmaster forwarded an email to me, sent by one of our readers –too late to be inserted among the letters to the editor published in the Readers’ Pages. I guess she did that because the author was condemning me for my audacity in criticizing the buses in our town considering my confession that I had never ridden on one (until I went out to the Botanical Gardens’ big to-do).

I don’t get it. Never have I criticized anything other than what I see or hear, i.e.: their "contribution" to the noise pollution in the downtown area of town, the shmutz that comes out of their tailpipes, "contributing" to the air pollution all around the bay, and the crazy Indianapolis-style races they sometimes hold among and against each other. I believe -and maintain- that I can do that without actually riding on them. So there.

This past week has been very exciting in my sometimes very routine-like life in paradise. I had friends and relative in town, plus I went to all sorts of movies, restaurants, and a show!

Once I had handed in my column for last week’s issue, I went down to ViteA to meet my relatives. That was Wednesday. It always gives me great pleasure to see how folks who have never eaten at a particular restaurant enjoy their meals. And at ViteA, they always do.
The next evening, when some of them had already left to return to the apparently never-ending rains of Vancouver, my friend and I decided that we would go to Daiquiri Dick’s for dinner before driving out to the Cinepolis theater complex to see "The Departed" before it departed.

Dinner was, well, superb …like it always is at DD’s. As we didn’t want to be late for the movie, we figured we’d have something for dessert once we’d bought our movie tickets at the theater. I had told her about the crêpes they sell there, so we had them on our mind all the way out there. But it was not to be. They were all out of the various crêpe fillings… So we went to the cake window. All the cakes in the showcase were facing the wall, instead of the customers. So I asked one of them why they didn’t turn them around so that we, the buying public, may see what was inside them. (They all looked delicious, but they weren’t identified…) At first, she ignored me. When I repeated my question, and she realized that I was serious, she told me that it was too difficult to remove a slice when the cake was turned "outwards", and it was too much trouble to turn the tray every time someone wanted a slice. OK. That settled that.
The movie deserves its Oscars.

Friday, I had promised to take my remaining relatives (those who were still in PV) to the Botanical Gardens. They were very impressed by Arden’s article and all the photos… So back we went – by car this time. They loved the Calzones they ordered for lunch, and all the beauty that surrounded us no matter which direction we took on those expansive grounds. A great day, followed by a great evening. We had scheduled dinner at Mike’s Hacienda Alemana Frankfurt, then to the Ciné Bahía. Now even though I’ve enjoyed Mike and Irma’s friendship for years, the atmosphere and setting in their restaurant, the Wiener schnitzel, the breast of duck … and the spaetzle, I had never noticed the Chocolate Fondue on their list of desserts. I don’t know if it’s a new item on the menu, but oh, boy! Were we ever happy campers by the time we reached the theater!

I haven’t seen "The Last King of Scotland", but if Forrest Whittaker hadn’t won his Oscar for it, I’m sure that Will Smith would have, for his performance in "Pursuit of Happyness". And that child of his! Wow.

Saturday turned out to be yet another highlight. I had promised myself to accomplish one more "first" in my life in paradise, so I actually got up early (a near impossible feat for this night owl), and went to wander through the huge market (also called tianguis, by the way) alongside the Libramiento. What fun! From furniture to food, cars to clothes, pirated CDs to pirated DVDs, brooms to shoes, you name it, you can find it at the tianguis on Saturday mornings.

The evening was reserved for dinner and a show, the former at Santa Barbara’s upstairs restaurant (good food at a great price) and the latter downstairs, at the Theater. It was Sol’s long-awaited interactive one-man show, Siempre Sol. What can I say? The man is incredible. If you want to take a trip through Sol’s entire professional career, spanning close to 40 years of famous songs from the world of Broadway musicals, don’t miss this show. An hour and a half of hits, performed by the man who replaced the likes of Sammy Davis Jr. and Anthony Newley (?) on some of the world’s most famous stages. Double wow!

And don’t forget last week’s Gran Ballet of Saint Petersburg, whose show at the Coastal University Center’s Auditorium sold out so fast that they had to schedule a second late show, just to satisfy the demand… Some people think that Puerto Vallarta is just another little Mexican beach resort with great landscapes, great weather, great hotels, great galleries and great food… Ha! Silly folks. They should only know what fun can be had here, if one has the time…

And how are you doing with the change in time in the rest of the continent? I hope no one has gotten into trouble because of it. Do you realize that this Wednesday marks the vernal (spring) equinox? We can already feel a difference in the nighttime air, not quite so cool and pleasant any more…I guess I’ve run out of space again, so until next week, which will probably be this paper’s April Fools issue, I wish you all a wonderful time, lots of lovin’ and don’t forget to share your good fortune with the less fortunate. Hasta luego. pvmom04@yahoo.com